Actual Intervention Research Articles

Government intervention in European mergers and acquisitions

The increasing globalization of economies has leveraged protectionist attitudes in different countries during the last decades.In the context of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A), national governments have intervened to “protect” big domestic firms and their industries from foreign bidders. Despite the potential for severe implications of these actions on the internationalization of firms and development of markets, the research in this area is relatively scarce, and we still know very little about the real causes and consequences of government intervention. In this paper, we study government opposition to cross-border European M&A during the period 1997–2017, an era of important changes in Europe. Using an event study methodology, we examine abnormal returns for targets and their rivals in the time period prior to actual intervention to gauge if investors perceive intervened deals as harmful events for the industry, which could justify government intervention. We use a hand collected sample of 1,574 EU15 rival firms for 48 mergers, of which 18 experience government intervention. Entropy balanced regression models show that rivals of intervened targets earn significantly lower returns relative to rivals of non-intervened targets on deal announcement. Nevertheless, rivals’ abnormal returns are not negative, suggesting that intervened deals are not perceived ex ante as harmful for industry competitiveness. The results are more consistent with investors’ ability to identify likely blocked deals, which puts downward pressure on abnormal returns to both the target companies and their rivals. These findings indicate that government interventions against foreign bidders seem to have an economic cost in the sector that is anticipated by the investors.

Understanding self-monitoring to inform a mobile intervention for binge eating and weight management: A proof-of-concept randomized trial.

ObjectiveThis study explored consumers' perspectives on self‐monitoring, a common feature in behavioral interventions that helps inform consumers' progress and answer their questions, to learn what outcome metrics matter to consumers and whether self‐selection of these metrics leads to greater engagement (i.e., compliance, satisfaction) in self‐monitoring than monitoring only default options.MethodsIn a proof‐of‐concept randomized trial, 48 adult participants were randomly assigned to “clinician‐determined monitoring” or “clinician + self‐determined monitoring” conditions. Before starting monitoring, all participants shared outcomes that would matter to them in a mobile intervention for binge eating and weight management. Then, for 3 weeks, participants in the “clinician‐determined” condition monitored their weight and binge‐eating episodes, and participants in the “clinician + self‐determined” condition monitored these and another metric of their choosing. After, satisfaction and compliance were assessed.ResultsParticipants identified 116 metrics, grouped into 12 themes, that mattered to them. During monitoring, participants in the “clinician + self‐determined” condition monitored 41 metrics. Surprisingly, participants in the “clinician‐determined” condition also monitored metrics besides weight and binge eating. This resulted in a failure of our experimental manipulation, which represents a significant limitation of this research. No significant differences emerged in satisfaction or compliance between conditions.DiscussionAlthough our proof‐of‐concept trial yielded null quantitative results, findings also suggested binge eating and weight management interventions may benefit from including an individually customizable monitoring option in addition to default metrics, warranting testing in future research.Public SignificanceExamining consumers' self‐monitoring preferences for a mobile intervention for binge eating and weight management revealed a variety of metrics that matter to consumers, although binge eating and weight were still most valued. Findings from our proof‐of‐concept trial suggest design implications of encouraging an individually customizable monitoring option, in addition to default metrics, which needs to be tested in future research over a longer period and during actual mobile intervention delivery.

Self-managed action learning and assessors of newly qualified social workers in multiple organisations in England: a facilitator's perspective

PurposeThis study aims to explore a self-managed action learning (SMAL) initiative undertaken by social work assessors in England, which led to insights into the practice of SMAL.Design/methodology/approachThe paper draws upon the experience of the authors in relation to an actual SMAL intervention in a social care context in England.FindingsThe paper suggests that, in contrast to extant literature, it is not the absence of an “expert” facilitator, which has proved to be most challenging but rather dealing with the practicalities of managing inter-organisational sets online. Specific individual and inter-organisational learning came about as a result of the SMAL initiative, including the implementation of inter-organisational networking to support isolated assessors.Research limitations/implicationsThe ideas and perspectives discussed in this paper will be explored through further empirical research.Practical implicationsThe paper illustrates how SMAL can be implemented and suggests how it can facilitate organisational and individual learning.Social implicationsThe paper discusses an initiative with the aim of better supporting assessors of newly qualified social workers; a task of enormous importance to the future of social work practice in England.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to a limited literature on the practice of SMAL. The uniqueness comes from both the multi-organisational aspect of the programme, that it is self-managed and delivered virtually.

Exploring the formation conditions and dynamic trends of rural residents’ clean heating behaviour in northern China based on reinforcement learning

Although Chinese government has enacted a series of policies to substitute bulk coal combustion with clean heating for space heating in northern rural areas, the clean heating rate in China is still lower than expected. In order to effectively boost the clean heating behaviour of rural residents, it is of great importance to fully understand their willingness to clean heating, which is largely dependent on the perceived value. Because the perceived value can be enhanced through continuous intervention by the environment information, this study used the reinforcement learning model to portray the interactive relationship between rural residents and the environment, aiming to quantitatively analyse the dynamic trends of rural residents' clean heating behaviour. A social cognition model was combined with the reinforcement learning model to further clarify the formation conditions of rural residents’ clean heating behaviour. The value of intervention intensity and efficiency was divided into three levels, i.e., strong, weak, and adverse. The result indicates that the clean heating behaviour has a higher correlation with the intervention intensity than with the intervention efficiency. The intervention intensity and efficiency were indicated by the parameter of personal intensity λi, contextual intensity λe, and effective rate γ, delay degree τ. Additionally, under the condition that the parameter values of λi, λe, γ, τ are 1, 1, 1, 0, respectively (the hypothetical strongest intervention intensity and efficiency), it will take approximately 8 years to achieve a 90% clean heating rate in northern rural China. Under the condition that the parameter values of λi, λe, γ, τ are 0.67, 0.34, 0.75, 0.28, respectively (the actual intervention intensity and efficiency), it will take approximately 43 years to achieve a 90% clean heating rate in the pilot villages.

Post-PCI outcomes predicted by pre-intervention simulation of residual quantitative flow ratio using augmented reality

BackgroundThe simulated residual quantitative flow ratio (QFR) computed from pre-intervention three-dimensional (3-D) coronary angiograms, which could theoretically predict actual post-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) QFR value, can be used for enhanced PCI via augmented reality. The study sought to investigate the concordance between simulated residual QFR and actual post-PCI QFR, and the prognostic value of simulated residual QFR. MethodsQFR assessment was retrospectively performed in treated vessels from the all-comers PANDA III trial. Three-step analysis was performed: 1) concordance between simulated residual QFR and post-PCI QFR; 2) prognostic value of simulated residual QFR; and 3) forecast of outcomes by virtual randomized controlled trials (RCTs) between residual QFR and angiographic guidance. ResultsOf 2989 treated vessels, 2146 (71.8%) with paired analyzable simulated residual QFR and post-PCI QFR were included. The simulated residual QFR and post-PCI QFR were strongly correlated (r = 0.976). Low simulated residual QFR (≤0.92) was independently associated with higher risk of 2-year vessel-oriented composite endpoint (adjusted hazard ratio: 5.50; 95% confidence interval: 3.03 to 10.0). Based upon 5000 iterations of virtual RCTs, simulated residual QFR-guided strategy was anticipated to have a 2.6% absolute reduction of 2-year incidence of target vessel failure compared with the angiography-guided strategy. ConclusionsWith high consistency to actual post-PCI QFR, the simulated residual QFR computed from pre-PCI 3-D coronary angiograms and augmented reality could predict functional outcome of the procedure and 2-year prognosis. Using data from PANDA III trial, the present study forecasted superiority of residual QFR-guided PCI strategy over angiographic guidance.Clinical Trial Registration Information URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT02017275.

How do placebo effects contribute to mindfulness-based analgesia? Probing acute pain effects and interactions using a randomized balanced placebo design.

Recent sham-controlled studies suggest placebo effects contribute to acute pain relief after mindfulness interventions. However, the specific effects of mindfulness processes and their interaction with placebo effects remain unclear. This study aimed to characterize the role of mindfulness and placebo processes underlying mindfulness-based pain attenuation. Both treatment (focused attention mindfulness vs sham) and instruction (told mindfulness vs told sham) were manipulated in a balanced placebo design. Changes in acute heat pain were evaluated in 153 healthy adults randomized to receive 6 × 20 minutes of 1 of 4 treatment by instruction interventions or no treatment. Participants receiving any intervention demonstrated improved pain outcomes (unpleasantness, intensity, and tolerance) relative to those receiving no treatment. The instruction manipulation increased expectation for pain relief in those told mindfulness relative to those told sham, but there were no main effects or interactions of treatment or instruction on pain outcomes. However, irrespective of actual intervention received, the belief of receiving mindfulness predicted increased pain threshold and tolerance, with expectancy fully mediating the effect on pain tolerance. These findings suggest a lack of specific effects of mindfulness and instruction on acute pain. Nonetheless, participants' expectancies and beliefs about the treatment they received did predict pain relief. Together with the overall improvement after any intervention, these findings suggest that expectancy and belief may play a stronger role in attenuating acute pain in novices following brief mindfulness interventions than the actual mindfulness-specific processes or instructions delivered.

The Effect of Erosion Control Practices on the Vulnerability of Soil Degradation in Oued EL Malleh Catchment using the USLE Model Integrated into GIS, Morocco

Water erosion is a major problem in semi-arid region where decreases the dam reservoir design capacity, agricultural yield productivity, and increases other environmental impacts. This phenomenon is widely predominant in Morocco, particularly in the Oued El Malleh watershed in the Casablanca Settat region. Most soil erosion happens gradually which makes it challenging to notice. Hence, the monitoring of soil degradation under a modelling-based, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) can help the decision-makers to quantify the eroded soil and choose the best mitigation measures. Many erosion control practices have been implemented in The Oued El Malleh watershed in 2008, which covers a surface area of 3127 km2. Even though, the soil erosion still dramatic in the region. To date, no one has attempted to work on the impact of the soil conservation factor at the level of the Oued El Malleh watershed, as well as monitoring the sustainability and effectiveness of the water erosion control practices already implemented. Therefore, periodic monitoring and evaluating soil degradation is imposed. To achieve this purpose, we used the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to spatially assess water erosion in the study area, to find out the most vulnerable area to erosion, to notice the efficiency of the actual erosion control practices and elaborate on new mitigation measures. The results of this study have been shown that the rate of soil loss in the Oued El Malleh, including the actual control erosion interventions, varies from 0 to 90 t. ha-1.year-1; with an average erosion rate of 0.65 t. ha-1.year-1. The study area characterized by a moderate to severe slopes, in some area, the Length and Steepness Factor LS exceeds 90 %. For this reason, we have been elaborated new soil loss map, including soil conservation measures according to the slope. The soil loss rate; following this approach; varies from 0 to 64 t.ha-1.year-1. Furthermore, the followed approach could be valuable for assessing the soil loss in similar area.
 HIGHLIGHTS
 
 Casablanca-Settat agricultural lands become progressively infertile and depleted soils
 Soil degradation by water erosion is a tidal problem in the Oued El Malleh watershed
 Soil loss was estimated at a watershed level using the USLE model and ArcGIS tool
 The soil loss rate is estimated to be 0.65 t. ha-1.year-1, and the average sedimentary yield is found at 8.27 t. ha-1.year-1
 Sustainable land management can limit soil degradation
 
 GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

Wellbeing and Resilience in Tourism: A Systematic Literature Review During COVID-19.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UWTO) has acknowledged 2020 as the worst year in tourism history due to the worldwide pandemic COVID-19. Destinations, tourists, local communities, stakeholders, and residents, and their daily activities were affected. Thus, wellbeing and resilience are two crucial variables to help the industry and the people recover. This research aims to analyze early positive approaches and attitudes to respond to the negative impact of COVID-19 in tourism everyday activities that have at its core wellbeing and resilience, the two main variables of the Positive Psychology field of studies. A systematic literature review was conducted, following PRISMA guidelines to achieve this aim. The research was done using the Online Knowledge Library (B-on) and all the available databases. The research led to 32 articles that were screened using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 18 scientific articles met all criteria. Overall, results show that a positive and resilient approach to deal with the adverse outcomes of the pandemic is a concern for stakeholders and the future of the organizations in the tourism and hospitality sector, as is tourists’ wellbeing. However, less research has been done on wellbeing and a clear lack of research regarding residents’ wellbeing and resilience is evident. A deeper study of wellbeing and resilience in tourism is needed, and actual practices and interventions to ensure that all tourism actors have the resources to overcome the pandemic and restart the industry’s daily lives feeling well and safe.

Article Review: Present Perspectives of Hyperthyroidism During Pregnancy

Graves’ disease causes inflammatory hyperthyroidism in around 80% of hyperthyroidism cases inwomen of reproductive age. The hormonal changes in the maternal immune system after birth may belinked to the production and expression of diabetes other than gestational and early-onset diabetes. Asa result, in addition to hormonal influences, other anatomical modifications or abnormalities seen inthe body during pregnancy will affect the pregnancy test. Thyroid hormones are critical for a woman’shealth and the commencement of her pregnancy. These hormones are essential for early developmentand play a crucial role in the fetus’s continued growth after conception. Women with untreated orimproperly controlled hyperthyroidism are more likely to have complications during pregnancy. Futurediseases, particularly those that produce a large number of fetuses due to IUGRTH. The treatmentof hyperthyroid pregnant women is extremely difficult, and medical staff engagement is required toguarantee that it is properly monitored and treated. Anti-thyroid drugs are commonly administered topregnant women, and it is the medication of choice for the majority of them (ATDs). Despite the fact thatboth of these drugs are passed through the mother’s bloodstream to the fetus, they are highly effectivein the treatment of maternal hyperthyroidism. Nonetheless, they must exercise caution throughout thesecond half of pregnancy due to the risk of fetopathy. The most common side effect, except in thefirst trimesters from weeks 6 to 10, is fetal abnormalities; even with that proviso, the incidence ofbirth malformations is significant during the first trimester with the use of ATDs. The management ofhyperthyroidism during pregnancy is divided into four areas that obstetricians are currently concernedabout: Its aetiology, occurrence, correct identification, under treatment, complications, and actual ormissed diagnosis and intervention, and lastly, the technique of dealing with the problem are all factorsto consider.

Foreign exchange intervention: A new database

We construct a novel database of monthly foreign exchange interventions for 49 countries over up to 22 years. We build on a text classification approach that extracts information about interventions from news articles and calibrate our procedure to data about actual interventions. Our new dataset allows us to document stylized facts about the use of foreign exchange interventions for countries that neither publish their data nor make them available to researchers. Moreover, we show that foreign exchange interventions are used in a complementary way with capital controls and macroprudential regulation.

Differences in Dental Care Referral for Diabetic Patients Between General Practitioners and Diabetes Specialists in Japan, Analyzed from NSAID-Study 3.

IntroductionPeriodontal disease is a common inflammation worldwide and is not only the foremost cause of tooth loss but also a cause of deterioration of glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus. In addition, effective glycemic management improves the control of periodontitis infection. The aim of this study was to clarify whether awareness of the need to refer their patients with diabetes to dentists differs between general practitioners and diabetes specialists. This was achieved by secondary analysis of data from the 2018 Nationwide Survey on Actual Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) by Japanese Practitioners (NSAID Study).MethodsData from 380 general practitioners and 79 diabetes specialists who participated in the NSAID study and responded to the question of whether they referred T2DM patients to the dentist were analyzed in this study.ResultsThe proportion of general practitioners who referred T2DM patients to dentists was significantly lower than that of diabetes specialists (35.4% vs. 64.1%, respectively).ConclusionThis result suggests that the general practitioners who participated in this study were less cognizant of oral hygiene in patients with diabetes than those who specialized in diabetes. It is also necessary to increase the opportunities for education of physicians who provide diabetic care to promote appropriate dental referrals.

Modern Approaches to Diagnostics and Correction of Aging Biomarkers

From the biomedicine point of, view ageing is a natural process, characterized by a gradual decrease in the physiological integrity and adaptive abilities of the body, leading to a violation of its functions and an increase in the risk of death with age. Demographic aging of the population is a serious socio-economic problem, both in Russia and around the world. The main cellular and molecular signs of aging include genome instability, telomere shortening, epigenetic alterations, impaired proteostasis, impaired nutrient recognition, mitochondrial dysfunction, cellular aging, the stem cell pool depletion and changes in intercellular interaction, extracellular matrix rigidity, as well as activation of retrotransposons and chronic inflammation. For these reasons, in modern healthcare, preventing premature aging and treating age-related diseases is becoming a priority task. This review presents modern approaches to the quantitative assessment of the aging process using aging biomarkers as functional parameters reflecting the biological organism age at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels. This work also considers the actual non-drug and drug interventions allowing to slow down the development of age-associated pathological processes, allowing you to increase the quality and duration of life.

130 Adaptation of IHI Joy-in-Work framework to reduce burnout among postgraduate trainees

Abstract Primary Subject area Physician Wellness Background Physician burnout is a psychological phenomenon with serious and pervasive consequences on physicians’ mental health, patient safety, and quality of care. Burnout is multifactorial, originating from systemic issues, organizational culture and individual coping skills. Burnout is more common in residency training. Residents experience burnout more intensely due to lack of autonomy, self-efficacy and exposure to mistreatment. Residents are also frontline workers and the future healthcare givers. Organization-led interventions mostly focus on building resilience and mindfulness without addressing systems-level issues. In our study, we attempted to shift the paradigm to address system-level concerns first. We aimed to adapt Joy-in-Work: a quality improvement framework developed by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). This program allows residents to identify system problems that are meaningful to them and empower them to work as a team, taking back their autonomy and self-efficacy. Objectives To demonstrate that Joy-in-Work can be adapted effectively into a residency training program to reduce burnout and improve psychological safety among residents. Design/Methods The four steps of Joy-in-Work were implemented for residents in a level 3 neonatal intensive care unit. Residents engaged in “what matters” conversations through survey and group meetings, and identified impediments to Joy-in-Work. By applying QI methodology, residents identified priority interventions to eliminate impediments. Finally, the effectiveness of interventions was evaluated. Primary outcomes included prevalence of burnout and psychological safety; secondary outcomes assessed control over workload, and organizational culture. An IHI 12-item questionnaire was administered at baseline and after the interventions. To assess sustainability, a survey was also conducted one year after the implementation. We assessed adherence to interventions, nurse practitioners’ satisfaction and residents’ workload indicators. Results Through the implementation of Joy-in-Work, residents identified autonomy and work life integration as priorities. Stakeholders developed two interventions: change call schedule according to residents’ preferences and earlier afternoon handover time. Burnout was 77.8%, 50% and 75% for three survey periods respectively. Psychological safety increased consistently from 16.7% to 37.5% to 43.8%. Lack of control over workload dropped sharply from 72.2% to 12.5%, with a rebound to 56.3%. Most secondary outcomes demonstrated a similar pattern of positive change initially with reversion to baseline. Conclusion We demonstrated that Joy-in-Work is successfully adaptable into a residency setting. Implementation through residents’ engagement and empowerment can decrease burnout and improve psychological safety significantly. The process itself was likely the key driver for achieving positive outcomes rather than the actual interventions. Sustainability remains a key issue that requires systems support.

The Causes of Non-Compliance to Treatment Among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients

Background: Generally, type 2 diabetes mellitus can end with many complications, which leads to severe unwanted health problems that can be prevented by strict adherence to the prescribed methods of management conducted by the physician. So, this study was designed to evaluate the range of the patient’s compliance to therapy (drug, diet, and exercise). Methods: An analytic cross-sectional study evaluated 380 convenient samples with type 2 diabetes visiting private internal medicine clinics in AL-Kut city and over 18 years. All patients were consented to participate and full a pre-tested questionnaire consisting of questions related to the causes of non-compliance to the management protocol. Results: The sample consisted of 209(55%) females, 91.8% were from urban regions, and 43.2% had a college degree or above educational level. There were 64.2% who was continuously measuring their glucose level, but only 39.2% visiting the doctors regularly. On the other hand, most patients (78.4%) declared that they complied with drug therapy. On the other hand, only 20.5% of patients always follow the doctor’s instructions regarding a healthy diet, while 9.7% mentioned compliance with regular exercise. The significant causes of non-compliance to the drug were costly drugs in (25.4%) and (19.8%) for the forgetting. There were 123(62.4%) who did not care about healthy food, and 119(42%) could not practice exercise because they could not do that. Conclusion: The higher rate of non-compliance for diet and exercise focuses on the need for an actual intervention to increase the awareness about the importance of these two management types.

Resistant hypertension improved after 3 months by measuring drug levels to identify non-adherence

Abstract Introduction Identification of non-adherence to antihypertensive drugs is crucial to improve resistant hypertension (RH). For this therapeutic drug monitoring is the most reliable method. Purpose The primary objective of this analysis is to determine whether drug levels measured with a dried blood spot (DBS) method combined with personalized feedback leads to a decrease in prevalence of RH after 3 months due to an increase in adherence. Methods This is a multi-centre single-blinded randomized controlled trial (RHYME-RCT, NL6736). Patients went to an eligibility visit, where DBS sampling and a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) was performed simultaneously. Patients with a daytime systolic blood pressure (SBP) >135 and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) >85 mmHg were randomized to standard treatment (control) or intervention. The intervention was performed by the treating physician and included information on drug levels and a personalized feedback conversation based on a feedback tool. The follow-up period was one year and included visits at 3, 6 and 12 months after the eligibility visit. At each visit an ABPM and DBS were performed. Results A total of 53 patients (mean age of 59±11 years, 78.7% male) with at least three months of follow-up were included. The prevalence of RH decreased from 100% in both arms to 75.0% in the intervention arm (p=0.014, n=24) and 58.6% in the control arm (p=0.001, n=29). No improvements were seen in adherence rates over time. Furthermore, no significant differences were found after three months between the two groups in the degree of RH (p=0.214), SBP (p=0.551) or adherence (p=0.746). Conclusion Measuring blood pressure and drug levels led to a decrease in the prevalence of RH. However, this improvement could not be linked to the actual intervention or improvement of adherence. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): ZonMW

Student Intervention Against Homophobic Name-Calling: The Role of Peers, Teachers, and Inclusive Curricula.

Encouraging bystander intervention is an effective strategy to prevent episodes of bullying victimization at school. Yet there remains a paucity of evidence on this behavior in situations of homophobic name-calling, a form of peer victimization aimed at mocking individuals based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The existing research has focused on intentionality rather than actual student intervention behaviors, and, of note, no previous studies have taken into consideration contextual factors at the classroom and school levels. The present study examined whether students' observations of teacher and peer interventions against homophobic name-calling and perceptions of the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) issues in class are associated with student intervention behaviors against homophobic name-calling. A three-level multilevel approach was used to account for the nested nature of students' experiences in classrooms and schools. The sample included 1,296 students (43.57% girls) recruited from 84 classrooms of 22 Italian public high schools. Preliminary analyses showed that the variability in students' reports had more to do with which classrooms versus which schools students attend. Results from multilevel regressions indicated that students who observe teachers intervening during episodes of homophobic name-calling, and who perceive the representation of LGBT issues in class as positive, were more likely to intervene against homophobic name-calling and to observe other classmates intervene as well. Also, participants who observed other students intervening were more likely to intervene. These findings highlight the importance of the role of teachers in modeling classroom norms to encourage bystander interventions. Teachers can do so indirectly such as when providing a positive representation of LGBT issues in class, or directly when intervening to condemn episodes of homophobic name-calling. In addition, our results affirm the importance of peer influence in encouraging bystander interventions during episodes of homophobic name-calling.

Nodes Afford Connection: A Pilot Study Examining the Design and Use of a Graphical Modeling Language

External representations such as diagrams facilitate reasoning. Many diagramming systems and notations are amenable to manipulation by actual or imagined intervention (e.g., transposing terms in an equation). Such manipulation is constrained by user-enforced constraints, including rules of syntax and semantics which help preserve the representation’s validity. We argue that the concepts of affordances and signifiers can be applied to understand such representations, and we suggest the term graphical affordance to refer to rule-constrained syntactic manipulation of an external representation. Following this argument, we examine a graphical modeling language in terms of these graphical affordances, and we present a pilot study examining how participants interact with the modeling language. Preliminary results suggest that using the modeling language, as opposed to prose representation, influences user behavior in a manner aligned with the graphical affordances and signifiers of the modeling language.

Pre-Intervention Effects of a Community-Based Intervention Targeting Alcohol Use (LEF); The Role of Participatory Research and Publicity.

This study explores the impact of the ‘pre-intervention effects’ of a community-based intervention. This refers to participatory research processes and parallel publicity in the media on changes in alcohol use and relevant mechanisms (rules and norms about alcohol, accessibility of alcohol in a formal setting) among adolescents before any intervention is implemented. The aim was to investigate the contribution of these processes (i.e., pre-intervention effects) to changes in intervention-targeted factors before any actual intervention was implemented. In a quasi-experimental study, data were collected twice by means of self-report among adolescents living in two municipalities (control and experimental condition). A regression analysis showed negative pre-intervention main effects on adolescents’ perceived accessibility of alcohol in a formal setting. Moreover, among adolescents aged 15 years and older, the normative decline in strictness of rules and norms was less steep in the experimental condition compared to the control condition. Additionally, adolescents aged 14 years and younger in the experimental condition reported more weekly drinking compared to their peers in the control condition. No differential effects across gender were found. To conclude, applying a co-creational approach in the development of an intervention not only contributes to more effective interventions in the end, but the involvement of and discussions in the community when planning the intervention contribute to changes in targeted factors. This implies that public discussions about the development of intervention strategies should be considered as an essential feature of co-creation in community-based interventions.

SUSTAINING BEHAVIOUR CHANGE THROUGH IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES: TRENDS, PERSPECTIVES, AND APPROACHES

AbstractLong-term behaviour changes are critical to answering societal and individual challenges surrounding areas such as sustainability and health. Current understanding of how to bring about sustained behaviour is focused on the identification of Behaviour Change Techniques (BCTs) without explicit guidance on how these should be matched with technological solutions. Based on this gap we set out to answer the research question: What is the relationship between BCTs and interactive immersive technologies with respect to long-term, sustainable behaviour? To this end, we report a literature review on technology trends in the fields of human computer interaction, human robot interaction, and game design. Based on this review we develop three main contributions with implications for design theory and practice. First, we propose a number of characteristics and mechanisms in emerging immersive technologies. Second, we highlight technological pathways connected to specific BCT clusters likely to be disrupted: technology as a conveyor of information, an augmenter of feedback, and as an embodiment of empathy. Third, we explore these connections between BCT clusters and the actual technological interventions.

Cross sectional study on proportion of sulfonylureas among various oral antidiabetic drugs using for Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes, analyzed from NSAID Study-2.

We aimed to investigate the certainty of using sulfonylureas in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by analyzing data from the 2018 Nationwide Survey on Actual Intervention for T2DM by Japanese Practitioners (NSAID Study). Of the 6525 and 1545 participants in the NSAID Study under the care of general practitioners (GP) and diabetes specialists (SP), respectively, we included 5423 (83.1%) and 1058 (68.5%) patients who were treated with only oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) by GPs and SPs, respectively, in the analysis. Among the seven OAD classes in monotherapy, sulfonylureas were the third and fifth most prescribed OADs by GPs (7.1%) and SPs (6.4%), respectively. Sulfonylurea usage increased with combination therapy. Glimepiride was the most commonly prescribed sulfonylurea. Patients who used sulfonylureas had higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and lower body mass indices (BMIs) than patients who did not use sulfonylureas. The results of this study clearly demonstrated that, among the OADs, sulfonylureas were not frequently used in monotherapy, although the opportunity of using sulfonylurea increased with the number of OADs prescribed in combination therapies by both GPs and SPs in Japan. Moreover, low-dose glimepiride was the most-prescribed sulfonylurea for Japanese T2DM patients, especially for those who were lean and had higher HbA1c levels.